Endangered Monuments

In the name of the Wild Nature from Gouina Mali I call for help. I
please Everybody who loves the Earth for take an action and help to stop upcoming ecological
disaster GouinaHydroPowerProject. I represent silent being living in peace and harmony on the bank
of Senegal river for thousands years mammals, birds, fishes and trees. I´m
begging for protection of majestic cataracts in Gouina created by Nature for
millions years which could gone forever from The Planet Earth. Please help us!

The
natural waterfall Gouina it is located on the Senegal River in Mali, 70 km
upstream of Kayes and about 50 km downstream of Bafoulabé depend Foukara
Village(7 km to Bafoulabé) and are part of the common Diamou (at 22 km to
Kayes).They measure fifteen meters high and 130 meters wide.

The
natural fall in Gouina and Felou are on the Boucle du Baoulé National Park in MaliKayes Region and Koulikoro Region, set up in 1982. It has an area of 25,330 km².

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage
Tentative
List on 8th September, 1999,in the
Cultural category.

Biodiversity :The site is part of the classified forest Bagouko where you can meet a
wide range of vegetation with the baobab, acacia, n'galaman the kérékéto, shea,
or palmyra cibo, palm etc. It lists in the number of forest species, some protected or
endangered species such as leopards and hippos and antelope, antelopes reeds or water
buck, gazelles, wild dogs, the eland, the vultures .There are also red or patas monkeys,
vervet monkeys, warthogs, porcupines, hares, squirrels, frogs. Hundreds birds: parrots, doves, herons, wild pigeons,
wild ducks, partridges . The river is home to many fish , amphibians and reptiles like caymans,
lizards and boas.

Manantali Gouina Hydro-Power

Project (GHPP)

1.The Gouina Hydropower Project (GHPP) is a trans-boundary
initiative by the Senegal River Basin Organisation (OMVS), grouping Mali, Mauritania, Senegal
and Guinea, aiming at providing renewable energy to these four member states.
The project, located on a natural fall on the Senegal River, near Kayes, West of Mali,
will use the water already processed and regularized by the Manantali dam at an
estimated cost of
EUR 324m.

2. At the beginning of August 2012 Malian radio informed that the
Bank of Africa opened an account for new investments GHPP and confirmed
participation in this project.

5.The principal financial
backers are the EU,the World Bank, the BADEA, the Bank of Africa and the AFD.The
World Bank Project ID P09491 (OMVS/SOGEM Felou-Gouina HP)

6. Replaced inhabitants will get compensation
for their “loss”. On the meeting in Kayes 12.12.12 representatives of affected
people could hear about socio-environmental impact of hydro-dam and future benefit
such as compensation and economical development of the region.

7.Already existed the Manantali dam have negative impacts on
the regional ecology, on agricultural production, fisheries, and public health.
Downstream farmers affected by the Manantali dam have come together to create a
union called "Mouvement
des Acteurs de la Valle" (MAV).

8. Afew decades of hydro-dam give less benefit and more problems than it was
supposed. Researchers reported: extinction of fishes,aquatic species, the disappearance of birds in floodplains,
huge losses of forest, wetland and farmland, erosion of coastal deltas.The dams are source of global greenhouse gas
pollution especial in the hot tropical countries. Less freshwater flowing into
theoceans. The
big artificial lakes are responsible for malaria, bilharzia, schistosomiasis
etc. The dams influenced social-economical-political life, 10% of humanityfall into category of dam-affected
people

9.The most endangers spices in Gouina are
Hippopotamus amphibius, the new
high level of water will damage feeding.
Electric catfish from Malapteruridaefamily will gone. The
electromagnetic field used by birds (e.g Falco
peregrinus, Cotumix adansonii, Columba livia)
for navigation will be interrupted. Extinction of fishes will cause extinction
of Kingfishers
birds e.g Alcedo cristal, Halcon
senegalensis, Halcyon malimbica,Megaceryle maximus.

10.This
project will affect 2445 people. Six villages, 618 habitants will be replaced,
crops area affected 592ha and1800ha pastures.10119 trees including protected
species such as Rafia sudanica(Red List info: it may be Near Threatened or Least Concern.
Population trend: decreasing) will gone.

11. Mali has one of the highest Solar-Energy potential around the
world.The 155-megawatt new Nzema Solar-plant in Ghana
will cost 305 million Euro to build and will be fully operational in 2015.
HPPGouina 140-megawatt will cost 324 millionEuro (maybe more), commissioning in 2017. Both projects
start in 2014.Hydro-dam Gouina,Mali, West Africa, Report,Autor Ewa Olkuska